Worship Prayers July 14

CENTERING PRAYER        (Clement of Rome, 1st Century)

We ask you, Master, to be our helper and protector. Save those among us who are in distress; have mercy on the humble; raise up the fallen; show yourself to those in need; heal the sick; turn back those of your people who wander; feed the hungry; ransom our prisoners; raise up the weak; comfort the discouraged. Let all the nations know that you are the only God, that Jesus Christ is your servant, and that we are your people and the sheep of your pasture.

CALL TO WORSHIP            (Luke 10:27–28)

Love the Lord your God,                               

with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind!

Love your neighbor as yourself,

with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind!

Do this and you will live!

Let us worship God!

PRAYER OF CONFESSION

Holy God, we are your sons and daughters, descendants of the God most high, yet, we do not honor you and our actions belittle the love you have for us. We do not defend the weak or those in the margins. We do not uphold the poor or the oppressed. We do not commit to efforts to rescue the frail and the needy; we sometimes deliver them into solitude and neglect.

Rise up to judge us, O God. We prefer your merciful justice than living with guilt and fear. Straighten our path and guide our feet on the path of justice. We continue to pray in Jesus name. (Silent Confession)

AFFIRMATION OF FAITH – Book of Order, F-1.01

The good news of the Gospel is that the triune God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—creates, redeems, sustains, rules, and transforms all things and all people. This one living God, the Scriptures say, liberated the people of Israel from oppression and covenanted to be their God. By the power of the Spirit, this one living God is incarnate in Jesus Christ, who came to live in the world, die for the world, and be raised again to new life. The Gospel of Jesus Christ announces the nearness of God’s kingdom, bringing good news to all who are impoverished, sight to all who are blind, freedom to all who are oppressed, and proclaiming the Lord’s favor upon all creation.

For the sermon "For level words in crooked times", click here.